MPs call for 1p clothing tax to tackle fast fashion

MPs have proposed a 1p charge per item of clothing in the UK to help
fund better waste collection and recycling systems following an eight-month
investigation by the Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) into the
sustainability of the fast fashion sector.

In its final report of the investigation, the EAC estimated that the new
Extended Producer Responsibility (ERP) levy would raise 35 million pounds
which could be invested in better clothing collection and recycling systems
in the UK.

The EAC called for “a new economic model for fashion”, while
highlighting that, currently, less than 1 percent of material used to
produce clothing is recycled into new clothing,
despite around 300,000 tonnes of textile waste being thrown away each year.

According to the report, the UK buys more clothes per person than any
other European country, with the average consumer buying 26.7kg of fashion
items per year, compared with 16.7kg in Germany, 14.5kg in Italy and 12.6kg
in Sweden.

‘Fashion shouldn’t cost the earth’

As well as the 1p levy, the committee said that fashion companies offering sustainable items and repair services should be rewarded through
tax-reforms, and that more emphasis should be put on the skills of
designing, creating and repairing clothes in the school curriculum.

“Fashion shouldn’t cost the earth. But the fashion industry has marked
its own
homework for too long,” chair of the EAC, Mary Creagh, commented in the
report. “Voluntary corporate social responsibility initiatives have failed
significantly to improve pay and working conditions or reduce waste.

“The scientific warnings are stark on sustainability. Overconsumption
and climate change are driving mass extinction. We need a new economic
model for fashion. Business as usual no longer works. The Government should
change the law to require companies to perform
due diligence checks across their supply chains.”

In October 2018, , asking them to submit evidence of steps they were taking
to reduce the social and environmental impact of their companies.

In January, for
“failing to commit to reduce environmental impact”, and concluded that JD
Sports, Sports Direct, TK Maxx, Amazon, Boohoo, and Missguided were “least
engaged” in their sustainability efforts.